This week saw the announcement of Iberia’s new premium economy product that will be rolled out across 37 of the carrier’s long-haul fleet. Iberia will be the 7th oneworld carrier to introduce a real ‘premium’ economy product, and will mean the carrier can offer a more aligned product with sister carrier British Airways. There is…
Read More
The rise of the low cost brand a decade ago challenged the legacy carriers to reconsider their business model. Passengers were able to pick between the privileges of a packet of nuts, or a bare bones charge-through-the-teeth model where even you seat choice was a privilege. However, through the natural evolution of business, the…
Read More
American Airlines today announced two new exciting developments for their network. Starting November 4th, American Airlines will start flying from Dallas DFW to Madrid and Sao Paulo on their brand new 787-9 Dreamliner. Schedule: DFW-MAD MAD-DFW Departs DFW at 5:45 p.m. Departs MAD at 12:20 p.m. Arrives at MAD at 9:55 a.m. (next day) Arrives…
Read More
Flight: AF457 Aircraft Type: B777-200 Class: Premium Economy Route: GRU-CDG Date: May 2016 http://www.airfrance.com We were very happy to return from our previous trip with Air France in Premium Economy to trial one of the world’s most applauded mid-cabin classes. Featuring a modern clean cabin, well appointed seats and above-standard amenities such as champagne on tap and enhanced amenity kits.…
Read More
Yesterday saw the arrival of Cathay Pacific‘s first A350 in Hong Kong. When we saw a glimpse of the aircraft from the airport terminal, the new A350 shape was instantly recognisable, and to us signalled a new era for the carrier. Cathay have been working hard in the past two years, aligning two brands, opening…
Read More
Hot off the heels of their A330 refresh, Virgin Australia today unveiled its new International Business Class cabin, with the first of its refitted Boeing 777-300ER aircraft now flying across the Pacific. This comes after their announcement of the refresh back in 2014. “The airline’s flagship Business Class product ‘The Business’, new Business Class Bar…
Read More
Qantas has just launched a brand new safety video that showcases Australia in all its natural glory. From an oxygen mask demonstration at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart to a life-jacket demonstration at Bondi Icebergs, the video will be introduced across Qantas’ domestic and international fleet from today, as well as featuring…
Read More
American Airlines have announced they will be the first US carrier to introduce a ‘true’ Premium Economy on its international wide-body fleet. Premium Economy will be available in late 2016, and will offer a new class of service directly behind Business Class, providing an enhanced product offering compared to the Main Cabin. This new international-standard product…
Read More
Azul Brazilian Airlines, arguably the most modern of the Brazilian carriers, launched their new A330 cabins this October, including Azul Xtra (a fully fledged business class cabin), Economy Xtra (including the infamous Sky Sofa product) and their standard Economy cabin. Now flying to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale (Miami) from Sao Paulo’s Viracopos airport, Azul’s A330s will eventually…
Read More
Miami International Airport is getting three new services from Europe today. October 25th 2015 sees British Airways upgraded A380 service arrive at the airport, Virgin Atlantic‘s second daily Miami service, and a brand new connection from Turkish Airlines. The new services mark an expansion to Europe with a large expansion of seats to pick from. British Airways…
Read More
Alitalia today announced further improvements to their new international product, as well as improvements to their short-haul products and a variety of other touch points. As part of their turn around plan to turn to profit in 2017, the carrier also announced two new long haul destinations for 2016, including Santiago, Chile and Mexico City.…
Read More
We were delighted to be invited to Vietnam Airlines inaugural Dreamliner launch from London Heathrow today. It gave us the opportunity to see the carrier’s new 787-9 up close and personal on stand at Terminal 4 before its flight back to Vietnam. On the outside, Vietnam Airlines’ 787 has a fantastic colour to it, and…
Read More
Sorry? What was that? Yes we wouldn’t blame you for looking twice at the image above. Alitalia really has launched a new livery, and whilst the awaiting press may have been a little disappointed to not see something perhaps as young, bold and dynamic as Etihad’s recent (award-winning) livery, we are delighted with the result.…
Read More
We’ve written about the Singapore Airlines Premium Economy product before on our site, and it would be easy to reiterate the beautiful 38″ seat pitch, 13.3″ IFE touchscreen offering Panasonic Ex3 hardware and 1,500 on demand entertainment options, 8″ recline with seat-pan tilt, foot rest and calf support. Even the reading light, dedicated personal in-arm dining…
Read More
No, these aren’t designer office pieces of furniture, they are the latest premium economy seats by Acro Aircraft Seating, designed by UK based Factorydesign. Conceived with the future demands of airliners in mind, these ergonomic beauties have embraced the simple fact that comfort should be found in the spaces between the seats. One of the many ‘diamond patterned’…
Read More
In a new wave of patent submissions, British Airways are perhaps going back on their original herringbone concept that they submitted last year. The patent, filed last year but only recently published, shows off a wave of innovative seating arrangements. Whilst most of the patent references the seating configuration rather than the seats themselves, there are…
Read More
London based JPA Design has had a long working history with Singapore Airlines, starting back in 1998 when they first launched the 747 first class suite. Since then the creative studio has tackled a variety of cabin designs for one of the world’s leading airlines, including the 777 and first ever production business class seat for SIA’s A380.…
Read More
The first SAS aircraft “Erik Viking” with their new long haul cabin took off today. Lucky passengers on flight SK909 from Copenhagen bound for Newark are currently experiencing a new design, new seats, new infotainment system and onboard WiFi. We announced the development back in May last year, with artists impressions, however due to their recent launch…
Read More
You may have seen Air Astana stealing a few column inches in the news recently, due to its introduction of the ‘Air Astana Economy Sleeper’ service on their 757s. The new seat allows passengers to stretch out and enjoy three seats to themselves on selected international flights. The new product started on flights between Astana and London Heathrow, Frankfurt…
Read More
Vietnam Airlines has revealed (on the same day) both it’s 787 and A350 interiors which will be entering service later this year. The airline has opted for two different business classes between the two airframes, yet both offer substantial improvements on the current product, leapfrogging the carrier ahead to become a real competitor in the…
Read More
From 9 August 2015, customers travelling on select Singapore Airlines flights from Singapore to Sydney will be the first to experience the airline’s latest cabin class. Premium economy will eventually be rolled out to other destinations served by the Airline’s Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs, as well as their Airbus A350s, including Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, Frankfurt,…
Read More
Singapore Airlines launched a new puzzle on Instagram today revealing a sneak peek image of their brand new premium economy seats. There are a few elements we don’t fully understand, such as a power socket that appears on an extendable footrest, (how comfy would that be to have a plug digging into your legs) or…
Read More
Flight: CI791 Aircraft Type: B777-300ER Class: Premium Economy Class Route: TPE-HAN Date: November 2014 http://www.china-airlines.com Best for: Those looking for extra perks and comfort for those not wanting the heavy price tag. Most likely to sit next to: Savvy cool Trans-pacific travellers Business or pleasure: This airline is built for business. Great schedules, frequent services, good connections and wifi onboard, means for a logical…
Read More
In the past few days, Qantas have announced a wave of improvements both in the front and the back of the aircraft for their passengers comfort. The introduction of refreshed Kate Spade and Jack Spade amenity kits, improved IFE and the upgrade of the economy meals makes for a welcome home in the sky. Qantas have been…
Read More
Last year, we covered Thomas Cook’s new brand image, and it seems the carrier has now brought their interior cabin offering in line with their new brand. The new cabin brings the charter airline’s hard product inline with mainline carriers economy cabins. New food offerings, inflight entertainment and seats are going to make the journeys from…
Read More
Just when we thought we were going to give up on hoping for a less cramped 787 economy cabin, JAL come along and show us that passengers should be treated to extra space, in every cabin. ANA did offer a 2 x 4 x 2 seating configuration in their 787s but that has been phased…
Read More
SAS, excitingly, have announced a brand new cabin concept for their long haul aircraft. Featuring business class, premium economy and economy classes, the new cabin and seat designs leap the airline into 2014 with a loud bang. Competing against carriers such as Finnair who have already pushed their airline forward with new designed cabins, SAS…
Read More
Our TheDesignAir Top 10 lists have undergone a revamp in 2014, and to aid transparency, our top 10 airlines will now have their rating out of 100 shown, as voted for and calculated by our judging panel. This month we cover our top 10 premium economy classes. With airlines investing more into their new mid-cabin classes, competition is…
Read More
Back in late February China Southern took delivery of its first 777-300ER. In March 2014 it started flying to Shanghai from Guangzhou and now is commencing flights to NYC. The new aircraft features the latest cabin designs for the carrier which in our estimation has lifted the carrier to a world class competitor. With a…
Read More
Lufthansa have been working on a new premium economy product for the past few years and have just announced they are to be introduced into their long haul fleet. Seen globally as a huge success since the invention from Virgin Atlantic, in 1992, many airlines now offer a class between economy and business class, as…
Read More